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Hellcat-powered Jeep launches (Quickly) at MMC

January 10, 2018

Courtesy of The Drive: People either get the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, or they don’t—as Facebook commenters proved in our video from Monticello Motor Club of the madcap, 707-horsepower, Dodge Hellcat-powered Jeep. Either you think it’s awesome that a family-friendly Jeep can launch to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, and through a quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds (at 115 mph); or you wonder why anyone would want to design, build, drive or own such a ludicrous beast.

I can argue both sides of it myself. I was a once a skeptic of high-performance SUVs, but I’ve come around: Who exactly decreed that SUVs aren’t allowed to be fast or handle capably, even thrillingly? (See: Porsche Cayenne and Macan, BMW X6 M, Audi SQ5, Alfa Romeo Stelvio). Why should car buyers have all the fun? If you’ve got the money and you’re not into tiny two-seaters, then more (literal) power to you. And for all those smug Isaac Newton wannabes, yes, we’re all aware that a tall, weighty SUV will never handle as well as a Lotus. By the way, have you seen Lotus sales lately?